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A quarantine tank is simply a small aquarium that is set up for the purpose isolating a fish, or fishes, from your display aquarium. Quarantine tanks are inexpensive and easy to set up, and are an investment in protection for your display aquarium.

Parasites, injury, and infectious disease are an unfortunate, and unavoidable, aspect of the aquarium hobby. One of the main purposes of a quarantine tank is to hold new fish purchases in an isolated tank that allows for easy observation. If the fish should show signs of parasites or other infections you can medicate with no risk of infecting the fish in your main tank. If you have invertibrates, or live plants in your display, you are severely limited in your choices of effective medications, not introducing pathogens is your best defense. A quarantine tank also gives new fish an opportunity to get used to processed food without having to compete with your established fishes that most likely are aggressive eaters. Another benefit of a quarantine tank is that it also gives you somewhere to put injured or aggressive fish that you may need to remove from your display.

For most fish an aquarium of 10- 20 gallons will be fine, obviously larger fish or large numbers of fish will need a lager aquarium. You do not need to get fancy with your quarantine tank, a basic set-up is all that is required. A small power filter or air powered sponge filter, a heater, and standard aquarium light is all you need. A bare bottom aquarium works best, however something for the fish to hide in is important. A small cave constructed with rocks, some artificial plants, or a length of PVC tubing is recommended.

Quarantine of new fish should last for at least 21 days, this allows for extended observation, and for any parasites that may be present to complete their life cycles. If after 21 days there has been no sign of parasites or disease it is safe to acclimate and introduce your new fish to its permanent home with minimal risk of introducing any pathogens into your display. If at any point during quarantine you suspect there may be a problem with your fish, and you decide to medicate, your quarantine “clock” must be reset and you should start the 21 day period over again. Many parasites have multiple life stages, most medications are only effective against specific stages. For this reason, only an extended exposure to medication is truly effective against many parasites. This is also why some parasitical problems seem to come and go, the parasite may only become visibly apparent at certain life stages, although they were there “hiding” all along.

Controlled feeding is another important function of a quarantine tank. Wild caught fish can be very slow to acclimate to prepared foods, and may be very timid towards accepting new types of foods. Without competition new fish get a chance to adjust at their own pace, allowing them to compete once they are ready for the display aquarium. Use of appetite enhancers, like garlic, can also aid in training finicky fish to accept new foods.

There a few things that you can do to make setting up your quarantine tank fast and easy. You do not need to keep your quarantine tank running when not needed if you are limited on space. When needed, fill your quarantine tank with water from your display, this accomplishes a water change in your display, as well as gets you started with conditioned water in your quarantine tank. Another good trick is to keep your sponge filter, or cartriges from your power filter in your display tank. this keeps them colonized with bacteria and you will not have to worry about cycling your quarantine tank if you need it in a hurry. This is very easy to do if you use a wet dry filter on your display, simply hide them in the sump untill they are needed. You can set up an instant established quarantine system in just a few minutes if you plan for it (wouldn’t it be nice if your display was that easy)

Protect your display, you have put too much time, effort, and expense into your aquarium to put it at risk. A little patience and prevention will save you a lot of stress and disappointment.

Algae problems in the home aquarium are one of the most common issues hobbyists can face, and can seem very difficult to solve. Many people have given up on their aquariums because they could not stop the algae monster from taking over. This does not need to be case, aquariums should be a source of relaxation, not frustration. If you are fighting the algae monster in your aquarium, all you need to understand is what caused the problem, then the solution is not far away. The biggest mistake that is made while trying to eradicate algae from an aquarium is to treat the symptoms and ignore the cause. Using algaecides, scrubbing like crazy, leaving your lights off, and adding animals to eat algae will kill or remove algae in the short term, but history will repeat itself if you do nothing to address the source of the problem.

Algae need two things to thrive in an aquarium; Light and nutrients. To control unwanted algae growth you need to control both of these components to maintain an algae free aquarium.

Lighting is the easier of these two components to control. Duration and quality of light are crucial to controlling algae growth. Lights should never be left on 24hrs a day, try to create a natural day and night cycle in your aquarium. Freshwater live plant and saltwater live coral aquariums need a maximum of 10-12 hours per day to provide energy for photosynthesis, more basic aquariums require as little as 8 hours per day, any more light than this is unnecessary and can contribute to algae problems. Lighting duration is easily controlled with the use of aquarium timers. Lighting quality is a function of the type and age of the light bulbs being used. Whatever type of lighting is being used (fluorescent, metal halide, power compact) it is important that bulbs are replaced on a regular basis. The quality of your light degrades over time, shifting towards undesirable light spectrums that encourage algae growth. High output lights like metal halides and VHO fluorescents may need to be replaced as often as every six months to maintain optimal spectral output. Standard fluorescent, compact fluorescent and T-5 fluorescent bulbs should be replaced every 12-18 months depending on type and application. You should only use light bulbs that are designed for aquarium use, other types of light bulbs will produce unacceptable light spectrums.

Nutrients can be a more difficult problem to solve, and may require some investigation to determine the source. Nitrates, phosphates and silicates are the key nutrients to target when trying to control algae growth. These nutrients can be created in the aquarium from natural processes, or they may also be unknowingly added to the aquarium by the hobbyist. First let’s deal with the nutrients being created in the aquarium.

Nitrates are the end result of the biological filtration process in closed aquarium systems. Over time nitrate concentrations will rise in your aquarium, you should periodically test for nitrates in your aquarium using a nitrate test kit. Nitrate levels are best controlled by using nitrate removing filter media, like Seachem’s Denitrate and performing regular water changes to physically remove nitrate from the aquarium. Phosphates are produced in the aquarium by decomposing organic material, most commonly from uneaten food, decaying plants, and fish waste. And as with nitrates, phosphates will increase in concentration over time. Use a Phosphate test kit to monitor levels in the aquarium. Overstocking and overfeeding will quickly lead to elevated phosphate levels in an aquarium. Use phosphate removers in your aquariums filters, and perform water changes to physically remove phosphates from the water.

One of the most overlooked sources of nutrients in the aquarium is from your source water. Performing water changes or topping off for evaporation with tap water that has nitrates, phosphates or silicates will only compound the problem, and may make things worse. If you live in an area where there is a heavy agriculture industry phosphate levels can be extremely high from fertilizer use, and some municipal water sources can have high nitrates as a result of their filtration process. If you have tried the above steps without positive results, make sure that you test your tap water! Especially in live plant and live coral aquariums with intense lighting, make sure that your source water is as pure as possible.

There are many types of filter systems available for purifying your tap water. The most efficient type of filtration available is a reverse osmosis filter. Reverse Osmosis, or RO, will remove up to 95% of all impurities, and when coupled with a deionizer, will remove up to 99% of impurities (including nitrates, phosphates and silicates). If you know that the water you are putting into your aquarium is nutrient free, then you are one step closer to ridding yourself of troublesome algae problems.

Follow these guidelines and algae problems will be a thing of the past. Make sure that you are following proper husbandry guidelines with respect to stocking, cleaning and feeding habits, and test your water so that you are addressing problems at the source. You can control the algae monster!

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Since our start in 1973, That Fish Place has seen the aquarium hobby grow in popularity and evolve into an amazing blend of science, nature and technology. Our Marine Biologists blog may cover any topic that relates to the hobby, and will hopefully help whoever reads this blog to become a more successful aquarium keeper, whatever you fancy.

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